According to a conventional color printers, an ink ribbon cassette is divided into a plurality of areas, in a checkered manner (see FIG. 61) or in a stripe manner (see FIG. 62), such as Y (yellow)/M (magenta)/C (cyan)/B (black) so as to be printed while overlapping one another as disclosed in the Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 60-253578/1985 (hereinafter referred to as JP'578).
However, such a printer has the problem that the ribbon on whose color is not used is sent without being contributed to the printing when the colors are not uniformly used. In order to solve the problem, the thermal transfer printer disclosed in the JP'578 is arranged such that a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes are prepared so as to be disposed parallel to a moving direction of a carriage, thereby ensuring that the carriage can go and catch a target ink ribbon cassette in accordance with the need.
FIG. 63 is an explanatory view illustrating such an arrangement. As illustrated in FIG. 63, a carriage 100 can be moved in the direction parallel to a platen (not illustrated) by a timing belt 107 and a carriage drive motor 108. A stocker 105 can hold four ink ribbon cassettes 101 through 104 in the direction parallel to the platen.
Since the carriage 100 holds the ink ribbon cassette 103 as illustrated in FIG. 63, the printing can be carried out by a printing head 109 with the use of the ink ribbon cassette 103. When carrying out the printing with the use of another ink ribbon cassette such as an ink ribbon cassette 103, the ink ribbon cassettes 101 may be acquired by the carriage 100 after the ink ribbon cassette 103 is returned to a vacant position of the stocker 105.
The following methods are for delivering an ink ribbon cassette between the carriage 100 and the stocker 105: a method wherein the carriage moves and gets the necessary ink ribbon cassette without the movement of the stocker; and a method wherein the stocker itself moves and places the ink ribbon cassette on the carriage.
Here it is assumed that the colors of the respective ink ribbon cassettes 101 through 104 are the same. In such a case, when the ink ribbon cassette 101 is ended, the ink ribbon cassette 102 is substituted therefor. When the ink ribbon cassette 102 is ended, the ink ribbon cassette 103 is substituted therefor. Thus, the consecutive printing can be carried out.
According to the JP'578, a method wherein four ink ribbon cassettes are stacked on a carriage is proposed.
FIG. 64 is an explanatory view illustrating the method proposed in the JP'578, and shows that the upper most ink ribbon cassette 101 among the four stacked ink ribbon cassettes is in a state where the printing operation can be carried out.
In such a state, in order to change the ink ribbon cassette with another one for use in the printing operation, it is required that (1) a motor (not illustrated) for moving up and down the ink ribbon cassette is rotated, (2) the legs of a cassette cradle are pushed up, and (3) the motor from moving up and down the ink ribbon cassette is stopped when the next ink ribbon cassette is disposed in the position of the printing head 109.
In the case where the printing is carried out by moving the ink ribbon cassettes group in the moving direction of the printing head, i.e., in the vertical direction with respect to the shaft direction of the platen, when the current ink ribbon is consumed, the changing of the ink ribbon cassettes are automatically carried out from the fourth stacked ink ribbon cassette to the third stacked ink ribbon cassette, from the third to the second, and from the second to the first. Thus, the consecutive printing can be carried out.
According to the Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 62-227781/1987 (hereinafter referred to as JP'781), the consecutive printing by the ink ribbon can be carried out with the use of a thermal transfer serial printer in which an ink ribbon cassette containing two ink ribbons is provided.
FIG. 65 is a front view illustrating the state where the lower side ink ribbon (159b) of the two ink ribbons 159a and 159b which are contained by the ink ribbon cassette 158 is used. FIG. 66 is a front view illustrating the state where the upper side ink ribbon (159a) of the two ink ribbon s 159a and 159b is used.
In FIGS. 65 and 66, supporters 156a and 156b are (1) fixed to a holder 155 for holding the ink ribbon cassette 158, (2) are fitted to respective guides 153a and 153b which are fixed to a carrier frame 151, and (3) are slidable in the up-and-down direction by a driving mechanism 155a (a solenoid 152, an armature 152a, and a spring 152b).
In FIG. 65, when one line printing with the ink ribbon 159b is finished, the printing operation is suspended so that the holder 155 is pushed down so as to change the state into that of FIG. 66. Namely, the state is realized where the ink ribbon 159a and the printing head 154 can neighbor with each other. Then, the printing operation restarts while the ink ribbon 159a is fed by a ribbon motor 157. When it is detected that the ink ribbon 159a became in a ribbon end state during repeatedly carrying out the bidirectional printing in accordance with the foregoing operations, the printing operation is suspended. In such a case, the printing for the remaining characters is continuously carried out while the ink ribbon cassette 158 is lifted up to the position of FIG. 65 and the ink ribbon 159b is driven.
The following is well known as the printers having no stocker: a thermal printer disclosed in the Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 61-112666/1986 (hereinafter referred to as JP'666); a thermal transfer recording apparatus disclosed in the Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 3-187777/1991 (hereinafter referred to as JP'777); and a thermal printer disclosed in the Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 5-169783/1993 (hereinafter referred to as JP'783). According to such a printer, the printing is carried out with respect to a plain paper with the use of an ink ribbon cassette, in addition thereto the printing may be carried out with respect to a thermosensible paper which colors up on receipt of heat. The printer has the problem that the ink ribbon cassette should be taken out for each printing with respect to the thermosensible paper. In order to solve the problem, the thermal printer disclosed in the JP'666 proposes the arrangement wherein a carriage is provided with the moving mechanism for moving the ink ribbon cassette from a thermal head and wherein the ink ribbon cassette is taken out from the thermal head during the mode in which the printing is carried out with respect to the thermosensible paper which does not necessitate the use of the ink ribbon cassette.
FIGS. 67(a) and 67(b) are explanatory views illustrating such an arrangement, FIG. 67(a) illustrates the state in which the printing is carried out with respect to the plain paper while FIG. 67(b) illustrates the state in which the printing is carried out with respect to the thermosensible paper. A carriage 110 can be moved by a timing belt (not illustrated) and a carriage drive motor (not illustrated) in a direction vertical to a moving direction of a recording paper 111 as illustrated in FIGS. 67(a) and 67(b) .
The carriage 110 is provided with (1) an ink ribbon cassette holder mechanism 113 having an ink ribbon cassette winding mechanism 112 and (2) a printing head 114. With the arrangement, the printing is carried out by the printing head 114 with an ink ribbon cassette 115 being held by the carriage 110. In contrast, when the printing is carried out with respect to a thermosensible paper 119 without the ink ribbon cassette 115, the ink ribbon cassette holder mechanism 113 is pushed up by a cam plate 116, which is actuated by a motor 118 and a gear 117 in the carriage, so that the printing is carried out while the ink ribbon cassette 115 is taken away from the printing head 114.
FIGS. 68(a) and 68(b) are views illustrating the arrangement disclosed in the JP'783, FIG. 68(a) illustrates the state in which the printing is carried out with respect to the plain paper while FIG. 68(b) illustrates the state in which the printing is carried out with respect to the thermosensible paper. In the thermal printer disclosed in the JP'783, like the foregoing case, a carriage 120 is provided with an ink ribbon cassette plate 122 for holding an ink ribbon cassette 121, the carriage 120 being moved by a timing belt (not illustrated) and a drive motor (not illustrated) in a direction vertical to a moving direction of printing paper (not illustrated). The carriage 120 is connected with the ink ribbon cassette plate 122 by a moving arm 123 so that the ink ribbon cassette plate 122 can be parallelly moved with respect to the carriage 120.
With the arrangement, in the mode in which the printing is carried out with respect to the thermosensible paper without the ink ribbon cassette 121, a cam 124 pushes up the ink ribbon cassette plate 122 so that a printing head 125 directly comes into contact with printing paper (not illustrated), thereby ensuring that the printing is carried out with respect to the thermosensible paper without the user's removing operation of the ink ribbon cassette 121.
The thermal transfer recording apparatus disclosed in the JP'777 proposes the structure in which (1) a carriage holds a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes and (2) a mechanism is prepared for avoiding of the erroneous insertion of the ink ribbon cassette, thereby ensuring that the plurality of ink ribbon cassettes are simultaneously used for the multiple color printing. FIG. 69 is an explanatory view illustrating such a thermal transfer recording apparatus. There is provided, on a carriage 127, with a cassette plate 128 which can hold a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes that are elevated by an elevator 126, the carriage 127 being moved by a timing belt (not illustrated) and a drive motor (not illustrated) in a direction vertical to a moving direction of printing paper (not illustrated).
When the color printing is carried out by the thermal transfer recording apparatus, a yellow ink ribbon cassette 129c, a magenta ink ribbon cassette 129b, and a cyan ink ribbon cassette 129a are stacked in this order on the cassette plate of the carriage out (see FIG. 70) so that (1) the printing is carried out in yellow color by the yellow ink ribbon cassette 129c while keeping the cassette plate 128 lowered, then (2) the printing is carried out in magenta color by the magenta ink ribbon cassette 129b while the elevator 126 keeps the cassette plate 128 raised by one stage, and thereafter (3) the printing is carried out in cyan color by the cyan ink ribbon cassette 129a while the elevator 126 keeps the cassette plate 128 further raised by another one stage.
The three different color ink ribbon cassettes 129a through 129c have detection elements 130a through 130c for identifying respective ink ribbon colors (see FIG. 71). Detection switches 131a through 131c for detecting the detection elements 130a through 130c respectively are provided in the cassette plate 128 (see FIGS. 69 and 70).
As illustrated in FIG. 69, in the cassette plate 128, the detection switches 131a through 131c are disposed so as to come into contact with the detection elements 130a through 130c of the respective ink ribbon cassettes 129a through 129c when the ink ribbon cassettes 129a through 129c are attached to the cassette plate 128.
When the ink ribbon cassettes 129a through 129c are attached to the cassette plate 128, the detection switches 131a through 131c detect the detection elements 130a through 130c of the respective ink ribbon cassettes 129a through 129c, thereby judging whether or not the respective ink ribbon cassettes 129a through 129c are appropriately attached to the cassette plate 128.
The detail operations of the thermal printer in the JP'666, the thermal transfer recording apparatus in the JP'777, and the thermal printer in the JP'783 are disclosed in the respective unexamined patent publications, so such explanations are omitted here. In FIGS. 72(a) and 72(b), a printing paper feed roller feeds a printing paper 111 in an arrow direction. When the printing paper 111 is inserted, the output of a sensor 113 for detecting whether or not the printing paper exists becomes the on state.
The following methods are for delivering an ink ribbon cassette between the carriage 100 and the stocker 105: a method wherein the carriage moves and gets the necessary ink ribbon cassette without the movement of the stocker; and a method wherein the stocker itself moves and places the ink ribbon cassette on the carriage. FIGS. 72(a) and 72(b) illustrate the latter method. FIG. 72(a) illustrates the state where the stocker is moved up, while FIG. 72(b) illustrates the state where the stocker is moved down so that the ink ribbon cassette is held by the carriage.
According to the Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2-258276/1990 (hereinafter referred to as JP'276), in order to smoothly feed the printing paper, the carriage is moved to the center of the printing paper so as to press the printing paper during feeding of the printing paper, so that the jam of the printing paper can be avoided. FIGS. 73 through 75 are explanatory views illustrating the technique of JP'276.
In FIG. 73, the feed system of the printer is composed of a printing head 201, a platen 202 facing the printing head 201, a ribbon guide 206 disposed between the printing head 201 and the platen 202, a carriage (carrier) 207, movable in the right and left directions, having the printing head 201 and the ribbon guide 206, a tractor 204 for feeding a printing paper 203, and a cutter 205 for cutting away the printing paper. The tractor 204 is driven to rotate by a stepping motor 209 through a driving shaft 208.
The carriage 207 is horizontally moved by a stepping motor 211 through a timing belt 210. There is provided a detection sensor 212, for determining the feed position of the printing paper, on the feed path connecting the printing head 201 and the tractor 204. FIG. 74 is a view illustrating the position of the carriage 207 when the printing paper 203 is fed in the discharge direction. FIG. 75 is an enlarged view illustrating the printing paper feed path up to the cutter after the printing.
A predetermined amount of the printing paper is fed based on the fact that (1) the printing paper 203 is set to the tractor 204, (2) the stepping motor 209 is driven upon pressing a switch on an operation panel so as to feed the printing paper 203, and (3) the detection sensor 212 detects the upper end portion of the printing paper. Note that the carriage 207 is driven by the stepping motor 211 so as to move to the center of the printing paper upon pressing the switch on the operation panel (see FIG. 74), thereby causing that the printing paper 203 is pressed by the ribbon guide 206.
Thus, the printing paper 203 is fed while being fallen in a direction reverse to the direction in which the printing paper 203 winds around the platen 202 (the printing paper feed path), and the upper end portion of the printing paper is caught by a guide lower end 205" of the cutter 205, thereby avoiding the printing paper jam.
In a conventional printer which can not change the ink ribbon cassette while holding a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes, when a ribbon end is detected during printing, it is required that (1) the printing is suspended so that the user takes away the ink ribbon cassette from the carriage and attaches the new ink ribbon cassette on the carriage, and thereafter (2) the user restarts the printing.
JP'578 does not disclose how to control the continuous printing when a plurality of same color ribbons are set. However, since one ink ribbon cassette can be automatically changed with another ink ribbon cassette, the method, where in the printing is carried out while changing the ink ribbon cassettes in order when each ribbon end is detected during printing, may be proposed.
However, such a method presents the problem that it is likely that the printing is carried out while the ink ribbon cassette which is already ended is attached to the carriage again, since the holding positions of the respective ink ribbon cassettes which are already ended are not stored.
In contrast, when the holding positions of the ink ribbon cassettes which are already ended are stored, the following problem arises. More specifically, even though the user changes the ink ribbon cassette which is already ended with a new one, the new ink ribbon cassette will never be used since it is not detected on the printer side whether or not the changing of the ink ribbon cassette has been carried out.
Moreover, since the control wherein the ink ribbon cassette having least remaining amount has priority over other ink ribbon cassettes to be used is not carried out, it is likely that a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes which can still be used are presented.
According to the continuous printing method of the ribbons disclosed in JP'781, one ink ribbon cassette contains two ink ribbons and when one ink ribbon is ended, another ink ribbon is substituted therefor.
However, such a method presents the problem that the user can not know whether or not only one ink ribbon has been ended when the first ink ribbon was ended. Thus, since the printing can not be carried out when the second ink ribbon is ended, at this time the user must simultaneously change two ink ribbon cassettes with new ones.
Even if the user knows that the first ink ribbon cassette is ended and changes only the first one with a new one, the printer can not know the changing of the first ink ribbon cassette. Therefore, the printer continues the printing with the use of only the second ink ribbon cassette though the first ink ribbon cassette has been changed with a new one.
Accordingly, though such a printing method carries out the bidirectional printing with the alternate use of the first and second ink ribbons, the continuous printing can not be carried out while changing the ink ribbon each time each ink ribbon is ended.
In the arrangement where the stocker is provided which stores plural ink ribbon cassettes in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the carriage, and the ink ribbon cassette is exchanged between the carriage and the stocker, the following problems are presented.
In order to exchange the ink ribbon cassette between the carriage and the stocker smoothly and speedily, it is required to place the carriage and the stocker so as to face one another and to set the distance between them as small as possible. Therefore, the space between the carriage and the stocker wherein the ink ribbon cassette is set becomes small, and it is not easy to insert the user's hand, thereby presenting the problem of inconvenience in exchanging the cassette.
For this reason, it may be arranged such that the user exchanges the ink ribbon cassette by adopting the stocker which is rotatable or detachable, i.e., by opening the stocker. However, if the carriage is activated by mistake when the stocker is opened, even if the exchange is not performed properly, the printing may be started using the wrong ink ribbon cassette without notice.
Moreover, in the case of placing the ink ribbon cassette on the carriage by moving the stocker in the direction of the carriage, since the entire height of the printer is low, by setting such that the printer is set in this state except during the printing operation, the printer can be miniaturized.
However, in this state, since the stocker and the carriage are in tight contact with one another through the ink ribbon cassette, it is not possible for the user to exchange the ink ribbon cassette.
Furthermore, when the ink ribbon has been used to the end in the middle of the printing operation, and the ink ribbon cassette of the same kind (color) is not stored in the stocker, the new ink ribbon cassette is set on the carriage, and the printing operation must be restarted. In the described printer, it is difficult to set and take out the ink ribbon cassette on and from the carriage as being disturbed by the mechanical section of the stocker and the carriage.
In the case of the printer which is not provided with the detection means for detecting the kind (color) of the ink ribbon cassette for reducing the cost, etc., normally, the color of the ink ribbon cassette to be mounted to the position of the stocker is set beforehand, for example, black, yellow, magenta, cyan, etc. from the left end, so as to store the color of the ink ribbon each time.
However, when the user sets the ink ribbon cassette not on the s tocker but directly on the carriage, since the printer does not know the set ink ribbon cassette is in what color, a printing operation may not be performed in correct color.
The thermal transfer printer disclosed in the J'578 is an automatic changer printer in which the ink on the ribbon of the ink ribbon cassette is transferred to the printing paper by heating a plurality of small heating elements disposed on the printing head while the printing head comes into contact with the ink ribbon. However, since there is no sensor for detecting whether or not the ink ribbon cassette is attached to the carriage, it can not be detected whether or not the ink ribbon cassette is attached onto the carriage. Thus, in the case where the printing is carried out with respect to a thermosensible paper which colors upon receipt of heat without the ink ribbon cassette, the user has to confirm whether the ink ribbon cassette is not attached to the carriage for each printing so that the printing is not carried out while the ink ribbon cassette is attached to the carriage. When the user finds that the ink ribbon cassette is attached to the carriage, the user must take out the ink ribbon cassette from the carriage. Note that no description concerning the printing with respect to the thermosensible paper is disclosed in the the JP'578.
Moreover, in the case where the ink ribbon cassette is automatically moved to the carriage for each printing from the stocker which holds the ink ribbon cassettes, the ribbon which is to be moved to the carriage should be taken out from the stocker beforehand prior to each printing.
Namely, it is required to confirm for each thermosensible paper printing whether or not the ink ribbon cassette is attached to the carriage so that the printing is not carried out with the ink ribbon cassette, thereby presenting the problem that the printing is not effectively carried out.
According to the thermal printer of the JP'666 and the thermal printer disclosed in the JP'783, the user can carry out, without taking out the ink ribbon cassette at the user's end, (1) the printing with respect to the plain paper with the ink ribbon cassette and (2) the printing with respect to the thermosensible paper without the ink ribbon cassette. However, it is not considered to carry out the multiple color printing with the use of a plurality of ink ribbons. Accordingly, the user must change the ink ribbon cassette in accordance with the color to be printed for each multiple color printing.
In especial, three color ink ribbon cassettes, i.e., the yellow, magenta and cyan ink ribbon cassettes, are ordinarily used for the color printing. So, it is frequently required to change the ink ribbon, thereby presenting the problem that the color printing can not effectively carried out. In order to carry out only the color printing, the complicated structure is separately required, thereby presenting another problem.
According to the thermal transfer recording apparatus disclosed in the JP'777, with the use of a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes, the user can effectively carry out the multiple color printing without changing the ink ribbon cassette. The thermal transfer recording apparatus is arranged so that the ink ribbon cassettes are stacked on the carriage.
When the printing is carried out with respect to the thermosensible paper, another sliding corresponding to one ink ribbon cassette is required so that the printing head does not face the ink ribbon of the ink ribbon cassette thereby realizing the printing with respect to the thermosensible paper. So, when using three color ink ribbons such as yellow, magenta and cyan ink ribbons, the space for four ink ribbon cassettes should be totally prepared on the carriage for the color printing based on the fact that the space for the three ink ribbon cassettes and the space for the sliding during the printing with respect to the thermosensible paper should be prepared, thereby requiring the great space and thereby resulting in that the printer becomes bulky.
According to the thermal transfer printer disclosed in the JP'578, there is no sensor provided for detecting whether or not the ink ribbon cassettes are attached to the stocker, i.e., for detecting the ink ribbon cassette holding states of the respective carriage and stocker. This causes to present the problem that no errors can be detected such as (1) the error that the changing operation is not appropriately carried out due to some error that the automatic changer fails to move the ink ribbon cassette from the carriage to the stocker for example or (2) the error that the ink ribbon cassette is detached in response to the externally applied shocks during printing. When the error is not detected, the stresses are concentrated on the element whose strength is weaker, thereby causing to present the problem that the printer becomes out of order or the elements are damaged.
The thermal transfer printer disclosed in the JP'578 is a color printer that can carry out the multiple color printing by automatically changing the three color ink ribbon cassettes, for example, Y (yellow)/M (magenta)/C (cyan) ink ribbon cassettes during the printing, although only a single ink ribbon cassette can be attached to the carriage at a time.
In general, when carrying out the color printing, it is required that (1) the data to be printed are divided into respective Y (yellow)/M (magenta)/C (cyan) components and (2) the Y component data are printed by the Y color ink ribbon cassette, the M component data are printed by the M color ink ribbon cassette, and the C component data are printed by the C color ink ribbon cassette. Accordingly, when the ink ribbon cassettes are not attached to respective appropriate positions in the stocker, the color printing can not appropriately be carried out.
The thermal transfer printer disclosed in the JP'578 has no sensor for detecting whether or not the ink ribbon cassettes have been attached to the stocker. So, the user can not judge whether or not each ink ribbon cassette has been appropriately attached to the stocker for each selected printing mode, thereby presenting the problem that the appropriate printing may not be carried out.
The thermal transfer recording apparatus disclosed in the JP'777 identifies each one of the ink ribbon cassettes stacked on the carriage based on the fact that the detection switches, provided in the cassette plate for identifying the types of the respective ink ribbon cassettes, detect the respective detection elements attached to the respective ink ribbon cassettes so that the respective ink ribbon cassettes have been appropriately attached.
However, since the ink ribbon cassettes are stacked on the carriage, the following problems (a) and (b) arise: (a) (1) the thickness of the carriage including the thickness of the cassette plate becomes thicker in proportion to the attachable number of the ink ribbon cassettes and (2) the entire thickness of the printer becomes so thick because the space on the upper side of the carriage for the sliding width by which the cassette plate elevates is further required; and (b) it is only judged whether or not the ink ribbon cassette is the one which should be held in its ink ribbon cassette holding position because only a single detection switch is provided in each ink ribbon cassette holding position in the cassette plate.
According to the ink ribbon cassette automatic changer printer disclosed in JP'578, the ink ribbon cassette is delivered between the stocker and the carriage based on the fact that the stocker is moved up and down by the changer, thereby enabling to attach and detach the ink ribbon cassette.
Accordingly, if the carriage is tried to be moved when (1) the stocker has been moved down by the changer or (2) the stocker has been down due to some reasons, the carriage can not be moved because the carriage collides with the stocker, thereby causing to excessively burden the carriage drive motor. So, to keep moving the carriage under such a condition causes the carriage drive motor to be heated up, thereby presenting the reasons of some faults and accidents.
According to the ink ribbon cassette automatic changer printer disclosed in JP'578, the ink ribbon cassette is delivered between the stocker and the carriage based on the fact that the stocker is moved up and down by the changer, thereby enabling to attach and detach the ink ribbon cassette.
Accordingly, in the case where the carriage is forcedly moved by the user when the stocker has been moved up by the changer, if the changer tries to move down the stocker, the carriage collides with the stocker, thereby causing to excessively burden the changer. So, if the changer keeps moving down the stocker under such a condition, it causes that the carriage drive motor is heated up, thereby presenting the reasons of some faults and accidents.
Alternatively, if the changer tries to move up the stocker when something is placed on the stocker, such a movement excessively burdens the changer, thereby presenting the problem similar to the foregoing case.
According to the ink ribbon cassette automatic change printer disclosed in JP'578, the ink ribbon cassette is delivered between the stocker and the carriage based on the fact that the stocker is moved up and down by the changer, thereby enabling to attach and detach the ink ribbon cassette.
So, if the user tries to set the printing paper when the stocker has been moved up by the changer, such operation presents the problem that the printing paper is caught by the lower end portion of the stocker (see FIG. 72(a)).
JP'276 discloses a technical method wherein the carriage is controlled so as to move to the center of the printing paper, thereby avoiding the paper jam. However, in the foregoing ink ribbon cassette automatic changer printer having the stocker, when the carriage is merely moved to the center of the printing paper, both ends of the printing paper are caught by the lower end portion of the stocker, thereby presenting the problem that it is not possible to smoothly feed the printing paper.
Therefore, in order to supply the printing paper to the foregoing ink ribbon cassette automatic changer printer having the stocker, it is required that the stocker is kept be down so that the printing paper is not caught by the lower end portion of the stocker. In other words, when the stocker is kept be down, the printing paper is not caught by the lower end portion of the stocker. Thus, the printing paper is guided by the front surface portion of the stocker so as to be fed (see FIG. 72(b)).
In the case where the user supplies the printing paper to the printer when the stocker is kept be up, it is required for the user to carry out the operation for moving down the stocker prior to supplying the printing paper, thereby requesting the user to have troublesome things.
According to the ink ribbon cassette automatic changer printer disclosed in JP'578, the ink ribbon cassette is delivered between the stocker and the carriage based on the fact that the stocker is moved up and down by the changer, thereby enabling to attach and detach the ink ribbon cassette. Therefore, in the case where the changer moves up from the down state after setting the printing paper, when the stocker is moved up while the ink ribbon cassette is held by the carriage and the ink ribbon cassette which is first used after starting to print is different from that held by the carriage, it is required that the ink ribbon cassette of the carriage is once returned to the stocker and the ink ribbon cassette which is first used for the printing is attached to the carriage. Thus, the problem arises that another time is required for returning the ink ribbon cassette to the stocker, thereby requiring longer time for starting the printing operation.
In contrast, in the case where the stocker is moved up from the down state by the changer after setting the printing paper, when the stocker is moved up after removing the ink ribbon cassette from the carriage and the ink ribbon cassette which is first used after starting to print is coincident with that which has been originally held by the carriage, it is required that the same ink ribbon cassette must be attached to the carriage again, thereby causing dead time and dead operation in the entire printing operation.
According to the ink ribbon cassette automatic changer printer disclosed in JP'578, the ink ribbon cassette is delivered between the stocker and the carriage based on the fact that the stocker is moved up and down by the changer, thereby enabling to attach and detach the ink ribbon cassette. Therefore, it is judged, when the carriage is not provided with the ink ribbon cassette type detection device, what type of the ink ribbon cassette is attached to the carriage by judging that the ink ribbon cassette was removed from what position of the stocker.
The types (colors) of the respective ink ribbon cassettes which are held by the stocker are predetermined, i.e., for example, the colors of the respective ink ribbon cassettes of the stocker are B (black), Y (yellow), M (magenta) and C (cyan) respectively from the left end to the right end in this order. So, when the ink ribbon cassette is attached to the carriage during staying of the carriage in the left end of the stocker, it can be identified that the color of thus attached ink ribbon cassette is black.
However, generally, in the conventional printers, a sensor is provided which turns ON when the carriage moves to the left end of the stocker. The position of the carriage is identified in accordance with the moved distance of the carriage from the position in which the sensor turns ON. Thus, the position of the carriage can not be identified before carrying out the initialization of the printer.
The initialization is carried out, for example, just after turning on the power source. When the initialization of the printer is carried out, for example, the carriage is moved to the position in which the sensor turns ON. Accordingly, at that time, the type (color) of the ink ribbon cassette which has been attached to the carriage by the changer can not be identified. Even in the case where the ink ribbon cassette has already been attached to the carriage at turning on the power source, the type (color) of the ink ribbon cassette can not be identified.
As a result, even if the carriage has already held the ink ribbon cassette which is first used at the starting of the printing, it is required that (1) the ink ribbon cassette is once returned to the stocker, (2) the position of the carriage is identified, and thereafter (3) the ink ribbon cassette is again held by the carriage, thereby presenting the problem that the printer must do such vain operations.